Checking The Boxes

Joel Kotkin--author of "The City: A Global History"--has an opinion piece (sub req) in today's WSJ that looks at the things that American cities have decided to prioritize instead of infrastructure:

Rather than deal with the expensive and difficult task of retrofitting the sinews of commerce and communication -- bridges, tunnels, roads, rail lines, ports, sewers, and drainage systems -- America's urban powers focus on the ephemeral and the glitzy. They emphasize not brick and mortar, but sports stadia, convention centers, arts palaces, dubiously effective new light-rail lines, hotels and condo projects.

So how does Minneapolis stack up when it comes to spending on the glitz over the grit?

Sports stadia? Check.

Convention centers? Check.

Arts palaces? Check.

Dubiously effective new light-rail lines? Clang, clang, clang goes the trolley.

Hotels and condo projects? Check and check (just one of many condo projects).

This is not to imply in any way that the City of Minneapolis is responsible for the 35W bridge collapse. But how many other infrastructure repairs/upgrades have been given short shrift because the City has elected to focus its resources on high profile projects with questionable economic payoffs and often abstract benefits for its citizens?